Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece…..
Ohayo, peoples! This is my first serious One Piece fic! I've been working on it since last summer, Oi! Really hope you enjoy it. However, I may not be able to update for a long while because I'm starting up on my last few weeks of school, studying for SATs and AP exams and finals…. Read, and enjoy!
Emi
In the Eye of the Tiger
Chapter 1Rescued
Monkey D. Luffy sat on the bowhead of the Merry Go, and watched as the approaching ship came closer, its black pirate flag flapping in the wind. On the deck next to him, Roronoah Zoro quickly pulled out his swords, tied on his bandanna, and watched as the ship prepared to fire its cannons. "Time to fight Luffy?" he asked, clasping his third sword in his jaw.
Luffy nodded and calmly cracked his knuckles, jumping from the bowhead to the deck. Around him the other crew members were getting ready for battle as Usopp loaded the cannon.
"Let's go!" he shouted cheerfully, and the battle was underway.
"Usopp, fire!" Luffy ordered while Nami went to go steer the ship, since she knew the others would be too stupid to even notice that the ship was going off course.
Usopp fired with perfect accuracy, and the cannon shot through the air with a trail of black smoke whipping like a snake behind it. The cannonball hit its target, and the mast of the oncoming pirate ship exploded into hundreds of wooden shreds as it fell slowly into the water.
"Yeah, I hit it!" Usopp cheered, but his victory was cut short as a man flew from the mast of the enemy ship and landed gracefully upon the deck of the Merry Go.
The man was no taller than Luffy, but his powerful muscles rippled in the afternoon sun. Slowly, he tipped up his wide brimmed hat to glare at Luffy.
"You've made a very bad mistake attacking my ship, Straw Hat Luffy," the man said with a voice like grating steel, "and now you will pay."
Luffy gave the man a big smile as he cracked the knuckles of his other hand, "We'll see about that," he answered as he stretched both his arms behind him.
Meanwhile the other members of the crew were busy with their own problems as the pirates from the enemy ship began to swing over on ropes. Nico Robin, calm as always, watched in a kind of bored stare as one of her hands came out of the chest of a man swinging across to the Merry Go. She smiled as the hand poked him in the eyes, causing the man to hold his face screaming as he plunged into the depths below.
Roronoah Zoro, however, was opposite of Robin. He felt excited as his enemies came. The more enemies he could defeat, the stronger he could become. Easily, he blocked an enemy pirate as he swung at him with a spear.
"Attacking me will only cause you pain," Zoro said threateningly as he dropped the sword from his mouth and kicked it into the pirates abdomen. Quickly he put the sword back into his mouth and ran off to find stronger enemies.
Nami continued to steer the ship as a pile of beaten pirates formed a circle around her. Angrily she put away her staff, and tore one of her maps from the hand of a pirate. "That'll teach you to stay away from my maps," she shouted.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy shouted as his arms launched forward towards the captain. The captain stepped swiftly to his side as Luffy's arms stretched past him. Smiling, he took out two whips attached to his belt. The whips seemed like a normal weapon, except for the fact that they were covered in spikes. Luffy yelled in pain as the man slashed at his stretched arms with the whips, feeling more like a blade than a piece of leather.
Nico Robin watched the battle from afar, and soon the captain was distracted by various hands coming from his body and poking him. Luffy gave a silent thanks to Nico as he aimed for the man's face.
"Gum Gum Stamp!" Luffy shouted as his foot landed square in the captain's face causing him to fly overboard. Robin laughed as the man flew into the water, and sprouted hands on a pirate, coming from behind to attack her, and started tickling him.
Sanji, the ship's cook, walked out from the kitchen, carrying a plate of food in each hand, wondering what was going on. He kicked a pirate in the side as he came to attack him. As the pirate fell over in pain, Sanji jumped up, kicking another man in the face, and caused them both to go overboard. Neatly, he landed on the deck without spilling even a morsel of food.
Usopp, having abandoned the cannon, hid silently behind a barrel as five men came to the upper deck. Quickly he fired off an exploding star with his slingshot at a barrel of rum nearby. The barrel exploded, causing the men to catch fire, and jump overboard. Seeing this, Zoro shook his head -not at the men, but at the sad waste of good grog.
The battle continued to rage on viciously. So viciously in fact that nobody even noticed as a small, blue-nosed reindeer jumped onto the enemy pirate ship. Not only did he need medical supplies, but he decided to start looking for gold before Nami decided to have the entire crew spend a day looking for the gold on the ship. Suddenly, five men appeared from the upper deck of the ship and attacked.
Chopper guessed they were the ship's guards as he used his powerful hind legs, in his normal reindeer form, to kick two men in the head. Nervously, he switched to jump point as two men ran up to attack him from the sides. As he jumped the two men collided, knocking each other out, and Chopper finally landed hard on the head of the last man. The man screamed as his face hit the deck, but it didn't stop there. Chopper jumped out of the way as the floor of the deck collapsed, exposing the second floor of the ship below.
Chopper looked down into the now gaping hole in the deck and gasped in surprise. Iron bars coated one end of the room, which looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years, and the corner, curled up in a ball of bloodstained clothes, lay an unconscious woman.
Knowing instantly what to do, Chopper jumped down into the cell, and began examining the woman. She looked young, probably no older than seventeen. Her matted blue hair sprawled across the floor, and her clothes were torn and ragged. Two rose tattoos, one on each arm, seemed to shimmer in the sunlight and a long scar cut a diagonal white gash on her back.
Changing back into his normal form, Chopper reached for the small med pack strapped to his shoulder and gently turned the young woman on her back. "Wow, she's hurt bad…" he mused as he plopped down next to her and began to pick out the proper items to treat her with. He poured some fresh water onto a soft cloth and began to wipe away the dried blood and dirt from her face so he could see he wounds better. After a few minutes she began to moan a little and move around. To Chopper, this was a good sign: it meant she would probably be just fine.
The room suddenly went dark, as someone was now peering over the hole the reindeer medic has created, blocking what little sunlight it let in. Chopper looked up.
Meanwhile, back on the ship, a plate full of rice shattered on the deck with a loud crash. Sanji looked up at the men who were laughing at knocking the food out of his hand.
"You shouldn't have done that," Sanji said, glaring at them.
"Oh yeah," the man chuckled, unsheathing his sword, "and what's a cook like you going to do about it?"
In a flash, Sanji's kicked the man toe first in the crook of the neck, and lifted him into the air, supported only by Sanji's leg.
"To make fun of a cook at sea," Sanji said as the man choked and blood ran down his chin, "is only a fool's mistake."
With that he spun the man around in a circle, knocking the other men off the ship, and concluded by flipping and smashing the man's head face first into the railing.
"Weaklings," he muttered as he turned to see the rest of the battle. Unconscious men were scattered across the deck except for a group of seven at the end of the ship, who all seemed to be cowering in fear of the figures of Zoro and Luffy.
"ONI GIRI!" Zoro shouted as he launched Luffy, using the back of his swords.
"GUM GUM SCYTHE!" Luffy shouted as he flew towards the men. His arms stretched wide and sent all the men flying into the water. "WE WIN!"
Calmly, as if nothing happened, everybody went back to their normal duties, all except Luffy who continued to prance around the deck happily. Nico Robin continued to read her book as she grew extra hands to tie up the unconscious men on their ship. Nami, however, eyed the group warily.
"Where's Chopper?" she finally asked, and, as if by magic, a shout of terror came from the pirates' ship.
"Hey, I found him!" Zoro called from other ship. He then jumped down into the little room, and walked over to the medic. "Chopper, why are you helping one of the pirates we were just trying to destroy?"
Chopper stared sternly at his green-haired companion. "Because I'm supposed to help people. And besides, I don't think she's one of them- hold on, she's waking up…"
Meanwhile, the other crewmembers had come over to see what was going on.
"Don't worry, my love!" Sanji sang as he appeared next to Chopper and lifting the girl into his arms. "We'll take care of you!"
"Sanji! Put her down! She needs to rest!" Chopper shrieked, turning into his human form in case he needed to restrain Sanji.
"Stay out of this, you crap-doctor," Sanji snapped.
Chopper's jaw dropped. "WHAT!" he yelled, lunging for the cook.
A small moan from the figure in Sanji's arms stopped him. The chef put the girl on the floor and they all stood over her, waiting.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
"Huh?"
"OH MY LOVE YOU ARE AWAKE!" Sanji exclaimed gleefully.
"Who're you?" the girl asked, confused. Chopper shoved Sanji out of the way.
"Hi, I'm a doctor and I'm here to help. Who are you and where are these wounds from?"
She looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "I'm Emiko, who're you again?"
"I'm Tony Tony Chopper- I'm part of the Straw Hat pirate crew."
Usopp jumped into the room, followed by Luffy. "And I'm captain!"
Luffy backhanded him. "NO, I'M CAPTAIN!"
The girl called Emiko's eyes widened and she pushed Chopper away from her. "Stay away from me!" she yelped.
"Huh?" the others questioned in unison. "What's wrong?" Chopper asked innocently.
"I don't want anything to do with pirates!"
Zoro, who had been quiet up till now, spoke. "Well, we could just leave you here and sail away- would you like that?"
Emiko shot him a death glare.
"How dare you talk to a lady like that, you idiot swordsman," Sanji snapped, walking over to Emiko. "Don't worry, my princess, we'll take good care of you."
As he moved closer to her, her had flew to her left hip- and met air. Her eyes suddenly lost the fierce glow they had had only seconds before. Her hands fell limply to her lap and she looked down at the rotting wooden boards, muttering something completely inaudible to the pirates around her.
"You win," she said finally.
"Win what?" Luffy questioned. Zoro sighed.
"My swords…" she said quietly. "They're gone. Please find them. They mean a lot to me."
Zoro snorted. "Why shoul-"
"Shut up Seaweed Head! That's no way to speak to a lady!" Sanji cut in throwing a well aimed kick at Zoro, who dodged. Only just. "I'll find them for you, Princess!" He then disappeared up to the deck.
"I know where they are!" Luffy said suddenly, leaping up to the deck after Sanji, Zoro following in his wake. They went over to the railing.
"Luffy, what are you doing?"
"The man I was fighting was carrying swords but he didn't fight with them. I knocked him into the water so I'm searching for him."
Zoro sighed. "Luffy, he's probably at the bottom of the sea right now-"
"THINK AGAIN!" a voice boomed from behind them. They turned to find the captain standing, dripping wet, on the other side of the ship. "You destroyed my crew, and now I'm going to destroy you!" He swung his whip at Luffy, the thorns digging into the young man's leg. He swung the whip again, and Luffy was flipped over the deck into the water.
"LUFFY!" Zoro turned to dive in after his captain.
The whip-man laughed bitterly. "No, no!" he swung his whips at Zoro, but the swordsman easily cut them in half. "Damn!"
"TIGER HUNT!"
The man flew backwards from the force of Zoro's attack, blood squirting out from his wounds. Zoro leaped over him and into the water after Luffy.
"Hey, Zoro, what happened?" Nami called out after the swordsman surfaced, an unconscious captain in his arms.
"Nothing," he replied, climbing up to the deck of the Going Merry and dumping Luffy onto Nami. "Just Luffy being a pest and we found some strange girl- oh, that reminds me…" He leapt over to the deck of the other ship and in one swift motion, grabbed the two swords from the supposedly unconscious pirate. The man jumped up suddenly, and flicked his whip at Zoro, cutting him in the neck.
"Thought you could defeat m-"
Zoro silenced him with a kick to the face and he fell overboard. "Oi, that guy was annoying," he murmured, dropping down into the room where Chopper was still treating Emiko. The swordsman handed the girl her swords. She took them gently, examining their condition.
"Done!" Chopper chimed, standing. "Okay Zoro, you can take her."
Zoro sighed, and bent down to pick her up. She shoved him away, and pushed herself to her feet, unsheathing one of her swords. "Don't touch me," she hissed.
"What?"
"I said don't touch me!" She was shaking now, blood dripping down from a few wounds. "Men are pigs. Take a step closer and I'll kill you."
"I'm only trying to help-"
She lunged at him, tripped, and fell into his arms. She was panting heavily, her eyes sliding in and out of focus. "Listen, girl, I don't-"
She pushed herself back, dizzy. "You gonna fight me, or what?"
"You're kidding, right?"
"GO GET HIM MY LOVE!" Sanji shouted, dropping down to join them.
"SHUT UP, SANJI!" Chopper snapped back.
Zoro laughed and put his sword in his mouth. "Come and fight me if you're fond of dying."
She scoffed. "You underestimate me." In a sudden burst of strength, she lunged at him, and he blocked, their swords clanging together. Blood gushed from her multiple wounds and she grunted in visible pain and exhaustion.
The swordsman grinned cockily at her. "Good, but not good enough." He stepped back, and she fell forward to her knees, her brain getting fuzzy. She whispered something inaudible, before falling unconscious again.
Chopper rushed to her side immediately.
"Wait! Leave her-she'll just attack us again." Zoro snapped.
"We can't do that!" The little reindeer squeaked.
"Why not?"
"She could die!"
"So? She'll still try to kill us-" the swordsman toppled forward suddenly, after receiving an unexpectedly hard kick from his blonde crewmate.
"Chopper," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette, "bring her to the ship's recovery room."
"But we don't have a-"
"NOW!"
The reindeer scurried off in fear, gently carrying the unconscious Emiko in his arms.
Until now, Usopp had been hiding behind a barrel in the hall. He poked his head into the room. "S-Sanji? What's wrong with you?"
Sanji turned, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Ahh, Usopp, I've been waiting a loooong time to kill you."
"WHAT?" the marksman screeched, shaking. "S-S-Sanji!"
"You heard me," Sanji hissed, advancing towards Usopp. He moved to kick him, but Usopp ducked behind a barrel so Sanji would kick the barrel instead.
"USOPP'S HAMMER!"
The attack had no effect, and Sanji placed a well aimed kick into Usopp's gut. Usopp fell backwards and shot multiple lead stars at Sanji's head, but the chef kicked the slingshot out of Usopp's hands with a hideous laugh.
"USOPP'S RUBBER BAND!" the marksman shouted, shooting the rubber band into Sanji's eye. The chef stumbled backwards, distracted, and Usopp lunged for his slingshot, and pelted him with an exploding star.
He flew backwards, but managed to stay standing. "DIE!" he lunged at Usopp, kicking him in the legs to trip him, then flipped him in the air and kicked him directly in the solar plexus. He fell to the ground, in tremendous pain, and coughed blood. Sanji placed one foot on the small of his back, and with the other prepared to kick in his temple. "Goodbye, Usopp."
"CALTROP STAR!" Usopp shouted, suddenly twisting out from under Sanji and shooting him in the chin. Sanji stumbled back and ripped the bloody star from his chin. Usopp pushed himself to his feet with effort, panting heavily and bleeding profusely.
"DIE-" Sanji suddenly toppled forward, revealing Zoro standing behind him, rubbing the back of his head. He lifted the unconscious chef onto his shoulder and turned to Usopp.
"Let's go back to the ship."
TO BE CONTINUED
PS. Sorry if the fights scenes are a little lame……
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEO!
